Topics
We organise our actions in six thematic & strategic agendas:
Strategic Agendas:
Bio-economy
Circular Construction
Chemicals/Plastics
Manufacturing Industry
Food Chain
Water Cycles
Seven leverages provide additional support:
Leverage effects:
Lever Policy Instruments
Lever Circular Procurement
Lever Communication
Lever Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Lever Financing
Lever Jobs & Skills
Lever Research
What, why and how?
Why are we pursuing a circular economy?
Future visions 2050
How do we see our circular future?
About our management
Who steers what at Flanders Circular?
The city as circular construction director
Roles for local governments in the circular construction economy
In Europe, the construction sector is responsible for a whopping 50% of total resource usage, 36% of total greenhouse gas emissions, and 30% of waste production. In various Flemish cities and municipalities, there has been a strong growth in ambition in recent years to reduce the environmental impact of construction. Developing and implementing circular construction practices and a circular construction policy will be a key pillar in the transition to a circular economy.
To accelerate this systemic shift, the city of Mechelen explored how local governments can play an active role as circular construction coordinators. This concept doesn't necessarily involve a specific individual, but rather an active process, a mix of policies, and a toolbox of mechanisms that serve as a key for cities and municipalities towards a more sustainable construction practice.
Specifically, we established four pilot cases, spread across different city services that interact directly or indirectly with the construction sector, each involving a focused experiment on circularity. Different tools and themes were addressed in each case, and the city played a different role in each. All of this was monitored and guided by a new staff member specifically dedicated to the theme of circular construction. VUB Architectural Engineering laid out the research structure.
Image: © Caaap
Stad Mechelen
Partners VUB Architectural Engineering en VVSG
Sectors
Themes
Organisations
MOST IMPORTANT
RESULTS
- Through the pilot cases, we were able to build a strategic overview of potential interactions between the city and the construction industry and establish connections between various roles. For instance, we analyzed the role of urban planning regulations in shaping a circular construction policy.
- During various workshops, we engaged in intensive discussions with other local governments facing similar questions, each having already solved a piece of the puzzle. We learned from their experiences and were able to share our own findings.
- With the construction teams, we tested several new tools, which we translated into structural practices. For example, we designed the guideline for maximizing value retention in repurposing, renovation, and demolition projects, often revising existing processes as well.
- Based on our experiences, we synthesized the explored roles and instruments into a matrix of policy actions. This is intended to provide other cities and municipalities (even beyond this project) with a guide.
MOST IMPORTANT
LESSONS LEARNED
- To achieve internal buy-in, it's a good choice to start from familiar tools and procedures. This provides a foundation. By asking the right questions in concrete cases, employees gradually learn to understand the frameworks, logic, and nuances of the circular theme.
- As the theme permeates the operations of various services, there needs to be more coordination to achieve an integrated and coherent approach. However, organizing cross-functional operations is not straightforward for many municipalities.
- The capacity shortage in many local governments highlights the importance of effective coordination between different policy levels. It would be beneficial to elevate circular themes from the municipal to the Flemish level through the implementation of the Local Energy and Climate Pact (LECP).
- Although the instinct often leans towards opting for hard, regulatory measures, we demonstrated that soft, facilitating, and supportive measures can significantly enhance circular potential.
WHAT DOES
THE FUTURE HOLD?
The new staffing capacity enabled by this project is secured until the end of 2025 thanks to new research trajectories. This allows us to continue learning about circular construction and continuously share our findings with other administrations.
A first follow-up project is Demolition Teams, a study on innovative demolition policies as part of the VLAIO Living Labs. Here, as a public client, we will contribute to developing a code of good practice for demolition projects and integrated clientship. Additionally, we are part of various project consortia focusing on urban mining and circular material hubs, such as Bouwmijn and PREUSE.
Furthermore, we focus on implementing the project results across various other city departments, developing an action plan for circular construction, and monitoring circular construction, demolition, and urban development projects.
Finally, in line with previous commitments to reduce our material footprint, we also became the first local government to sign the concrete agreement.
